One of these days I’ll catch you in a weak moment, and carry you off to my den of passion deep in the woods.”
“Den of passion, huh? Last I heard it was a fishing cabin on the lake, and you had a family of possums under the front porch.”
Paxton winked at her. “Yeah, but for you, I would be willing to clean it up, and I promise you nights of endless pleasure.”
“Okay, Celine Dion, you better get to drinking that beer before it gets warm from all the hot air you’re spewing,” she said, shaking her head.
“You wound me.”
With a dramatic flair, he blew her a kiss before turning to go back across the bar to the table he was sharing with his brother, Derek. Sidney watched him for a moment with a smile on her face. He was such a sweet, funny guy. Why couldn’t she fall for someone like Paxton? Why did she have to be interested in the three Dawson brothers? What kind of a sicko was she? With a heavy sigh, she tossed her hair out of her eyes and went back to work, flirting, laughing, and refilling drinks as fast as possible.
A sharp whistle had her jerking her eyes over to the tables near the bar, where the three brothers stood with their Marine Corps buddies. Noah was waving his hand to get her attention. She had forgotten about the rowdy group of men. Even though she knew it meant good tips, she had to force herself to smile back at Noah. She wasn’t in a very flirty mood, but she took a deep breath, mentally steeling her nerves for some heavy-duty acting as she headed over to the group.
“Hey, guys. What can I get for you?” she asked, glancing around until her eyes smacked back into Noah’s clear blue ones. His expression was arrogant, and she understood why when she felt Tyce’s hand brush the small of her back.
“Another round of beers on the house for all of them, love.” The words were low and raspy next to her ear, and she shivered involuntarily. Looking over her shoulder, she found Tyce inches from her face, staring at her lips, his mouth quirked up in a small smile.
“No problem, be right back.” She started to turn away, but Noah caught her arm.
“Why don’t you just bring a couple of pitchers? The guys still have a couple of hours before last call. I’m sure they won’t be leaving anytime soon,” he said loudly as she glared pointedly at his hand around her bicep. She pulled her arm away, pretending to reach into her pocket for her pen and notepad, hoping that no one would notice the flush that crept up her cheeks.
“Hell yeah! We’re celebrating!” Lane’s yell distracted her from Noah’s touch and Tyce’s close presence, so she turned to him. Cocking her head and putting one hand on her hip, she let his smile wash over her, and she genuinely smiled back.
“Really? What are you celebrating?” she asked curiously.
“Laramie over there just retired!” He pointed at the man that sat across from him. She looked him over, surprised that someone so young would even be talking about retiring.
“Retired? You don’t look old enough to be retired, mister!” she said with a laugh.
“Gage Laramie, ma’am. Pleasure to meet you. I retired from the Marine’s and moved back to Apache Crossing last week,” Gage explained. His eyes scanned her body, and when they drifted back to meet hers, the look in his gaze was inviting. “I’m officially off the clock as far as Uncle Sam is concerned. No more dust, sand, danger, trouble, boots, or sleeping bags for me.”
She laughed loudly. “Something tells me you aren’t done with danger or trouble.”
“Might be right, sugar. Wanna come a little closer and we can start some trouble together?” He wiggled his eyebrows playfully and patted his lap, indicating she was welcome there.
“Nah, I’m too dangerous for retired men. You couldn’t handle me,” she flirted back. As she walked away to get the beer requested, someone let out a long whistle, and she could feel the eyes of the whole table on her while they all laughed